Practical joke
A practical joke or prank is a humorous practice in which another person is fooled, annoyed, or embarrassed in a mild and light-hearted fashion. Some types of practical joke include:
- hoaxes, especially ones perpetrated on or by the media:
- physical types of practical jokes, such as causing someone to:
- trip,
- get wet (ex: using water filled balloons),
- unknowingly wear embarrassing signs (ex: a 'kick me' note on the back),
- get soiled (saran wrap on the toiletseat) or
- produce unpleasant sounds (ex: a whoopee cushion)
- forms of mild harassment (ex: soaping someone's windows or decorating their yard with toilet paper).
Practical jokes are features of various kinds of holidays, such as April Fool's Day, Halloween, and in Spanish-speaking cultures the Day of the Holy Innocents.
See Also